Childhood and Youth in Nazi Germany

In his book Father Land, published in 1948, American psychiatrist Bertram Schaffner offered an influential interpretation of the root causes of the catastrophe brought about by the Nazi regime. Echoing the concept of the “authoritarian personality,” developed by Theodor W. Adorno, Erich Fromm, and other members of the “Frankfurt School” in exile, it centered on the “authoritarianism” of the German family. A towering and emotionally rather distant father, expecting strict obedience from all family members, inculcated a strong sense of discipline and subordination toward the greater nation in his offspring. Children thus did not learn to become independent-minded personalities but were raised with a pronounced “fear of failure.” While an emphasis on order and cleanliness reinforced this authoritarianism, a cult of manliness prepared young boys to become future soldiers. This “enforced obedience” in childhood came at a price. Aggressiveness and brutality in adulthood, directed not at previous family authorities but against people deemed of inferior rank or outsiders, would serve as its compensation. From this – primarily male-oriented – perspective, childhood in Nazi Germany had not been radically different from previous childhoods in Germany but essentially a continuation, with its dangerous traits enhanced further. ¹